How will the UK smoking ban work and who will be affected?
RISHI Sunak has announced proposals which will see smoking BANNED in only a few years.
With various steps included in the smoking ban, how will it work and who will be affected by the upcoming changes in the law?
What is the new UK smoking ban?
The UK has a plan in place to be smoke-free by 2030.
The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) has laid out 12 steps to help the government achieve this target.
These steps include reducing the appeal and availability of cigarettes to children, raising the age of buying cigarettes from 18 to 21, and regularly updating the Smoke-free 2030 strategy.
Other steps in this plan are making e-cigarettes free on the NHS, giving financial incentives to pregnant smokers, and more anti-smoking campaigns.
Some countries have already banned smoking outside cafes, pubs, bars and restaurants, including New Zealand.
This was due to the rise in people eating and drinking outside during the coronavirus pandemic.
Smokers and non-smokers were forced to mix more while dining al fresco, something that wasn’t appreciated by non-smokers.
Who will be affected by the smoking ban?
In his speech at the 2023 Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that children currently under 14 will never be able to legally buy cigarettes in their lifetime.
He said: “People take up cigarettes when they are young.
“Four in five smokers have started by the time they are 20. Later, the vast majority try to quit.
“But many fail because they are addicted and they wish they had never taken up the habit in the first place.”
Existing smokers will dodge the ban and Mr Sunak promised MPs a “free vote” on his plans meaning they can oppose them without fear of being disciplined.
Mr Sunak insisted a ban was the “only way” to break the vicious cycle of kids taking up the habit and then struggling to quit as adults.
How will the smoking ban work?
The crackdown to ultimately ban fags will work by raising the smoking age by one year every year until it is totally outlawed.
It will increase from 21 years to 22 years the following year, and so on.
This means children born after January 2009 will never legally be allowed to purchase tobacco.
Existing smokers will avoid the ban.
Raising the legal smoking age every year was one of the key recommendations of a government-commissioned review into smoking.
Mr Sunak said: “We must tackle the single biggest entirely preventable cause of ill health, disability and death.
“And that is smoking, and our country. Smoking causes one in four cancer deaths.”
The PM also announced plans to outlaw vapes with packaging and flavours designed to appeal to youngsters.